


A Dark Knight in Hawkins

by AspieCrow



Series: A Dark Knight in Hawkins [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: AU, Gen, but those are the ones I definitely know I'm including, there'll definitely be more characters added as we go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-01-06 23:35:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12221250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AspieCrow/pseuds/AspieCrow
Summary: After hearing all of this, from Will’s disappearance to Hawkins Lab to Will’s return, there were still many unanswered questions. What exactly was the dimension that had been breached? Did it house more of these creatures? There was one question above all others, though, that Bruce Wayne wanted the answer to.Where was Eleven?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! So, this has been an idea in my head for a while and I finally got at least a semblance of it, so I've decided to start writing and hopefully it'll expand from there!

**_Monday, December 26, 1983_ **

The glow from the immense computer screen he sat in front of bathed that area of the vast cave in a pale blue light.

Bruce Wayne had been researching one particular news story ever since it first broke more than a month earlier. Twelve year old Will Byers had disappeared sometime in the night between Sunday, November 6th and Monday, November 7th in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana. The little information that had been released to the public had gotten the billionaire’s attention, and though two states separated Gotham from Hawkins, he had begun to investigate it.

Before he had time to properly piece everything together, however, things had seemingly resolved themselves. First, Will’s body had been discovered on Wednesday, November 8th. Then, four days later, news broke that the body had been a fake and that Will had been found alive and was currently recuperating in Hawkins General Hospital. And normally, that would have been it. Bruce would have declared the case closed and moved on. He did, after all, have his hands full with the multitude of costumed criminals in Gotham to deal with.

However, there was one thing that caught his eye. This was printed in a newspaper article after Will’s return, entitled “The Boy Who Came Back to Life”:

_Byers’ mother, Joyce Byers alleges that Will was the subject of a secret government experiment run by the Hawkins National Laboratory._

The article went on to describe how the organization was under investigation, and some further digging (supported by his ability to access files and information that was inaccessible to most) allowed Bruce to uncover detail on what had been going on in the lab on the outskirts of the small Midwestern town.

The director of the lab, Doctor Martin Brenner, had been heavily involved in Project MKUltra and, in the early 70s, this resulted in the birth of a girl with extraordinary abilities. Brenner had isolated the girl, named “011”, and used her as a test subject, believing her to be an asset for use in the Cold War. This had continued until the present year, when something went wrong during an experiment and a gate was opened into another dimension, allowing a creature to escape, which led to Will Byers’ abduction. During the chaos of this, “011” had managed to escape as well, coming into contact with Will’s friends, all of which resulted in a chain of events that led to Will’s return, though with the consequence of Eleven herself disappearing.

After hearing all of this, from Will’s disappearance to Hawkins Lab to Will’s return, there were still many unanswered questions. What exactly was the dimension that had been breached? Did it house more of these creatures? There was one question above all others, though, that Bruce Wayne wanted the answer to.

Where was Eleven?

He had been doing what he did for long enough to realize that if there wasn’t a body, you didn’t assume the worst. And missing children had always struck a chord with Bruce. As such, there was nothing else for it. Moving away from the computer, he grabbed his utility belt from the nearby table and put it on over the gray Kevlar weave suit he already had on, before finally picking up the black cowl and placing it over his head.

He would need to be as covert as possible, but he also needed to fill in as much of the blanks as possible. He still didn’t know what all had happened between the time that Eleven had escaped Hawkins Lab and the time that she disappeared, and he needed that information if he was to find out what happened to her and how to find her. He would have to speak to those involved. Those who would be more likely to answer, anyway.

Calling up one of the many cars he had in storage, he took the driver’s seat and tore out of the cave, his destination clear.

The Batman was coming to Hawkins.


	2. Mike Wheeler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman meets the first person in his investigation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! It's been a while since I posted the first chapter.
> 
> So, obviously, since this has been started before Season 2 comes out, it's gonna go in a MUCH different direction than the show (I have a sneaking suspicion that including Batman probably also has something to do with that :P), but once Season 2 comes out, I may incorporate aspects of it into the story, either this one or a sequel if I ever do one. Let me know what you think!

**_Tuesday, December 27, 1983_ **

 

As had become a routine for him, Mike Wheeler had snuck out of his room after his bedtime and was now at the intersection of Kerley and Cornwallis, the place that he and his friends had dubbed “Mirkwood”. It had been where one of those friends, Will Byers, had first encountered the monster that the boys referred to as the Demogorgon and everything that had happened during November.

He had discovered the wooden box the day before, and immediately, Mike’s mind was racing a mile a minute. Who put it there? Why? Did it have anything to do with Eleven? If it did, what? Regardless whatever the answers to those questions where, Mike had resolved to search near the box and see what he could find. And it turned out that what he found was the confirmation that he wasn’t deluding himself.

Eggos.

Tears welled up in Mike’s eyes as he stared down at the frozen waffles that had been placed in the box. She was alive. He had proof. The wave of emotions caused by this revelation hit Mike hard. Relief that Eleven was alive, fear that she was in danger and, perhaps worst of all, anger that he hadn’t found out earlier. If he had, he thought, he would already be closer to rescuing her from wherever it is that she was. Maybe he’d already have done so and Eleven would be home and safe. Maybe they’d have even been able to go to the Snow Ball and he wouldn’t have spent that night even more miserable than he had usually been this past month. Whatever the reality would have been, Eleven would have been closer to being warm and safe and happy.

“What does it mean?”

The four words snapped Mike out of his thoughts and back into the real world as he whirled around to find the source of them. Standing nearby was a tall man in a dark outfit and cape, with a symbol of what seemed to be a bat emblazoned across his chest and what looked like a helmet to Mike, but with two pointy bits at each side. A small gasp made its way past Mike’s lips and he realized who exactly he was face to face with.

Mike, Lucas and Will had first heard of the Batman of Gotham when they were eight years old, after Nancy had shown them a newspaper clipping with an incredibly blurry photograph of what looked like a man with wings. Of course, now he was up close, Mike could tell it was a cape, but that didn’t make it any less impressive. The boys had almost religiously followed anything they could find about the vigilante, something that they shared with Dustin when he joined their group. Seeing him in real life was an incredibly surreal experience for Mike, and it took him a few moments to properly process it.

“Wh-what are you doing in Hawkins?” he was able to finally ask.

Batman paused, taking in the unspoken information that Mike had heard of him before answering.

“The situation with Hawkins Lab. There’s more to it. I’m here to find out what,” was the response, before reiterating his earlier question, “what are the waffles for?”

It was something of an odd thing to hear a man who regularly stopped mass-murderers utter the word “waffles”, but any amusement Mike would have taken from that was taken away by the fact that the Batman was here to figure out what happened and maybe, just maybe, that could mean helping Mike as well.

Because of this, though he didn’t mean to, everything came out. Mike told the man in front of him about everything, from Will’s disappearance and how he, Lucas and Dustin went searching for him and found Eleven, to Eleven’s sacrifice, to how he just now found out that there was a box in the woods that someone was putting Eggo waffles in, Eleven’s favourite food. He was just so desperate to get help in _some_ capacity that _wasn’t_ pitying looks and half-hearted sympathetic words that it all just spilled out of him with no filter, and Mike only noticed when he was out of breath and his face was wet with tears from thinking about it all.

Batman shifted ever so slightly as he listened. If Mike had known him personally, he would have known that it was an act of sympathy for both the boy and the girl he had lost. When Mike finished, Batman approached and gently placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“Go home and get some sleep, Mike,” he told the boy.

“But...”

“Trust me. I’ll find her.”

And Mike believed him. If anyone could, it was the hero that he had read about. So Mike did make his way back home and for the first time in well over a month, he was able to sleep well.

And when that weak, familiar voice came to him in that place between asleep and awake, calling his name, he was able to tell her that they were close. That she would be home soon.

And just briefly, he thought he felt her smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Like before, I'd really appreciate you leaving your thoughts if you have the time and inclination! Thanks!


	3. Dustin, Lucas & Will

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike tells his friends about what happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, now that Season 2's been out for a while, I've decided that I will be including aspects from it both in this fic and its sequel (if I ever get around to writing it)! Also, I now have a definite length in mind of six chapters!

**_Wednesday, December 28, 1983_ **

 

“I met someone yesterday,” Mike spoke into his SuperComm, the same way he had been for the past forty-six days, “someone who says he can help us find you. He’s a real-life superhero and everything!”

 

It briefly crossed Mike’s mind that Eleven probably didn’t know what a superhero was. He considered telling her now, but he reasoned that the incentive to do so would help to carry him through everything until he found her again.

 

“I miss you, El,” he whispered, an all-too familiar lump rising in his throat at the utterance of the words. He’d said them every night, without fail. The first week or so he’d sobbed them, unable to hold back tears with the pain still fresh. It had dulled into a constant ache now, but was still practically impossible to bear. But now, he was positive that this would be over soon. The Snow Ball had come and gone, and his apology for breaking his promise that they would go was another nightly ritual (the day of the dance itself had been especially hard to get through), but they would have plenty of time to make up for that.

 

“I’ll see you soon,” he promised, before snapping his gaze up and away from the floor when he heard another voice in the room with him.

 

“Who’re you talking to?” Lucas asked, his tone making it clear that he knew the answer. He was flanked by Dustin and Will, all three with the same concerned look on their faces that Mike despised, having seen them far too many times over the past month.

 

His friends had found him talking through the SuperComm before, but they hadn’t pressed further when Mike refused to give them an answer to the question they always asked. This time, though, with hope that they would find her, they got one.

 

“El.”

 

“Mike, maybe...” Dustin started, after a brief moment of shock between the three other boys at having heard Mike actually admit to them what they had known.

 

“No, listen!” Mike cut him off, “we’re getting her back! I met Batman yesterday! He knows she’s out there!”

 

“Batman?” Will asked, half-incredulous, half-impressed.

 

“Why would _the Batman_ be in Hawkins?” Lucas’ disbelief was a lot more vocal.

 

“He found out about what happened!” Mike explained, “I was out at Mirkwood,”

 

He made a point of ignoring the looks that got him,

 

“And I found a box with Eggos in it! El’s alive! Someone’s been bringing her food! And he was there!”

 

“Did...did he put them there?” Will asked, clearly the one who was the most open to this possibility.

 

“No, he asked me what they meant,” Mike explained, “he said he was here because he knew there was more going on. He promised he’d find El!”

 

Mike took a moment to catch his breath again, having gotten excited again. Lucas, Dustin and Will all looked at each other, trying to figure out exactly how to react to this. Even if they hadn’t properly confronted it, they all knew how much losing El had affected Mike. He had tried his best to act like everything was okay, but they could see how upset he was. He had given up caring about a lot of things. The most surprising instance of this had been when Mr Kowalski had been his usual condescending self and Mike, snapping, had told him to go fuck himself. That had ended with a screaming match between the two, which was followed up by a trip to the principal’s office, along with a month’s allowance revoked and his Atari taken away until further notice. So they weren’t exactly certain what to do here.

 

“Maybe...” Will began, “maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try to find him again...”

 

Mike’s face practically lit up at the fact that the boy he had known longest was backing him up. That in turn made Dustin and Lucas cave.

 

“Fine,” Lucas agreed, “meet up at Will’s after lights out. The Bat’s not gonna be out before dark.”

 

Another weight felt like it had been lifted off Mike. They seemed to be getting closer to going back to normal every second, and it was an incredible relief.

 

*        *        *

 

That night, all four boys had snuck out of their bedrooms an hour after lights out, making their way to Will’s backyard to meet up.

 

“What’s the plan?” Dustin asked, all of them speaking in hushed whispers so as not to draw attention to themselves.

 

“I met him in Mirkwood,” Mike repeated, “maybe we start there and branch out?”

 

Lucas wasn’t a fan of that plan, feeling that if the Bat had already been at Mirkwood the night before, he wasn’t likely to go back. Before he could voice that, though, a smaller voice spoke up.

 

“Guys?”

 

Mike, Lucas and Dustin looked over to Will, then followed his outstretched finger to the shed, where the door was open ever so slightly.

 

“Mom closed it...”

 

The boys carefully crept towards the shed, Mike making sure to stick close to Will. The shed was where Will had disappeared from, and Mike knew that his friend had to still be terrified of it. A quick, reassuring smile towards the boy with the bowl-cut, Mike made sure to place himself in front of Will to help him feel more at ease.

 

At the door, Lucas grabbed a stray plank of wood before they burst through, expecting yet another threat they would have to deal with.

 

Instead, what they found was a man crouched in the back left corner of the shed, a long black cape draped over him. The man turned, revealing that he was indeed the man they had been hoping to find, eyes seemingly glowing white.

 

“Oh my God!”

 

“It’s really him...”

 

“I _told_ you!”

 

“Whoa!”

 

Lucas, Will, Mike and Dustin all exclaimed, with only Dustin being able to immediately follow up their shocked reactions with anything else.

 

“Are those X-ray or what?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for taking the time to read! If you could take just a little more to comment, I'd really appreciate it!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought, and if you'd like me to continue!


End file.
